ANKARA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkey rebuffed on Thursday the international criticism over stripping a lawmaker of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and seeking to shut down the pro-Kurdish party.
The Turkish foreign ministry urged the international community not to "intervene" in the Turkish judiciary, according to a statement.
The ministry said that all should respect the ongoing judicial process after the United States and the European Union condemned Turkey for its move.
The parliamentary seat of Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu from the HDP was stripped on Wednesday after an appeal court upheld his conviction on "terrorist propaganda" charges over a social media posting.
Hours later, a public prosecutor filed the indictment at the Constitutional Court, demanding the pro-Kurdish party be dissolved over its alleged links to outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and seeking a political ban on 687 members of the HDP for five years.
The ruling Justice and Development Party and its political ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have long portrayed the HDP as the political front of PKK. The MHP has been urging the government and the judiciary for the closure of the pro-Kurdish party in the past few months.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for over 30 years, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.
